A weekend in Birmingham

My Fiance surprised me to a weekend in Birmingham for my birthday!

Having never visited the city of Birmingham before, I was excited to see what it had to offer. So after three amazing days, I decided to write up my experiences of what we got up to if you ever wanted to stay. There are lots of hotels in Birmingham! As a couple, we did a lot of eating and drinking so if that’s your thing, read on!

Birmingham Nightlife

So after checking into our hotel and a quick freshen up, we headed straight over to a beach bar. Yes really! Our apartment was just next to the Bullring shopping centre and in the middle of it was this Mojito Beach Bar. With the weather reaching over 30 degrees, who could resist a few cocktails in the sun?! We opted for an Aperol Spritz (our venetian drink) and two Strawberry Mojitos. All drinks were fairly priced with laidback music, sand and swing chairs! We felt like we were on holiday…

After a few drinks, we decided to head over to another part of the city known as the Canalside. Along the canal are lots of restaurants and bars where you can have a tipple while enjoying the views. We went into Pitcher and Piano and Be At One. Both have a great choice in drinks, especially a Strawberry Daquiri! Even on a Saturday night, it was quite easy to get a drink and to have a seat next to the canal.

From there we walked to Broad Street where you’ll find the main nightspot for Birmingham. Along here are bars and nightclubs with plenty of choice with beer gardens and Irish bars. You could quite easily make a night of it here as a pub crawl so its perfect for couples and groups.

Shopping in Birmingham

So the following day we decided to make the most of the shops on our doorstep. We went into the World’s biggest Primark! The only shop you can justify buying four pairs of shoes right? It has four floors including a beauty salon, barbers and three cafes. The Bullring shopping centre has a great selection of high street shops such as River Island, Topshop as well as the likes of Selfridges for high-end prices.

Another destination to visit is the Mailbox and The Cube for even more shopping, eating and drinking. On Sunday night Bob took me to the Cube for a luxury dining experience.

Marco Pierre White Steakhouse

We visited the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and Grill on the 25th floor in the Cube. The scenic views of the city didn’t disappoint. He’d booked me a window seat and for starters, we shared Camembert with a bottle of Rose. And for the main, I opted for the Chicken Kiev which was yummy and Bob got a T-bone steak which went down a treat. They surprised me with a little birthday dessert followed by a vanilla and blueberry cheesecake. If you fancy spoiling yourself with a luxury meal, I’d recommend here.

Afterwards, we sat outside in their rooftop terrace with a glass of bubbly! The night didn’t stop there, downstairs there are even more bars and we went into Aluna. This cocktail bar is perfect if you love an Instagrammable drink or two. It reminded me of the Alchemist with the magical drink choices.

So that was our weekend in a nutshell! We visited some great bars and restaurants. Birmingham has a great nightlife which I’m sure we’ll return to. I hope this helps if you’re ever heading into the city and need somewhere nice to eat and drink, or to shop!